Why Software Testing is Important - 10 Reasons

The modern market of software products is characterized by high competition and struggle for the user. So, developers strive to meet the needs of their customers and make quality their top priority. This can be done with  SQAs. These specialists ensure that software products and project life cycle processes meet the specified requirements, which include:

• Planning; 
• Setting and executing activities that integrate quality into all software development and maintenance stages; 
• A clear definition of the problem and a clear statement of requirements for a software solution must be complete, unambiguous, and interpretable. 

Continuous quality control helps identify and fix problems early, reducing risk and costs later.

In this article, we'll take a closer look at some of the benefits of software testing and why software testing is important in every project. Of course, there are many more reasons, but first, let’s look at the top 10. 

So, let's get started: 

Reason 1: High-quality product

When developing a product, it is impossible to avoid bugs since there is always a human factor, the components' unpredictability, and the software's instability. Therefore, work on finding and timely fixing these bugs is urgently needed. The main thing is reporting all bugs before the release. It helps maintain the product's popularity and value in the market of similar applications.

Let's imagine: You released your product, users downloaded/opened your application, and found an apparent bug that interferes with the functionality or looks comical. Of course, some users will write about it in the comments of the App Store or Play Market, but alas, this is in an ideal world. And the reality is that they delete your app. As a result, the rating collapses, the number of downloads/visits the site decreases, advertisers do not look in the direction of your application, and the reputation is spoiled.

To avoid such an adverse scenario, our QA team follows a few simple rules:

• Consistent tracking: We use special tools that help identify and fix bugs at all stages of the development process. Also, our QA engineers report on bugs and tasks. Hire QA engineers with the expertise and experience to elevate the quality of your software product.
• Top priority Not all bugs are equally severe and urgent. Some may be critical to product performance or user safety, while others may be unnoticeable or cosmetic. We determine the priority of bugs based on their criticality and bring this information to the owner's product so that they decide on the importance of software testing and the urgency of fixing them. 
• Detailed report: We prioritize bugs based on their criticality and report the product to the owner to decide on the importance of software testing and fixing them. Usually, high-priority bugs are added to the current sprint and taken into work by designated development team members, with whom our QA engineers build communication. Lower-priority bugs are postponed for future sprints or releases. 

By following these rules, we can create quality products that will meet the needs and expectations of your users.

Reason 2: Increasing development speed

Speed development is one of the key success factors for any product. The faster you can create and implement new features, the more value you provide to your customers and the more competitive your product becomes. However, development speed should not come at the expense of code quality and security. Therefore, ensuring effective product testing at all stages life cycle is important.

But how to combine the speed of development and testing?
How to unload the team from routine and complex testing tasks?
How to make it so that developers can directly deal with their duties?

Here are some tips to help resolve these issues:

Of course, each project is unique, but in our experience, these basic steps speed up the process.

Reason 3: Cost efficiency increasing

Testing the system is important at each stage of the product life cycle. Testing helps to save money by preventing bugs that can be costly to fix in the future and improving the quality and reputation of a software product also increase the profitability of a software product by reducing support costs and increasing customer loyalty. Consider some of the benefits of testing software cost-effectiveness testing:

• Ensures software reliability and security 
• Provides high performance 
• Ensures that user expectations and needs are met. A positive user experience is essential for the success of any business or product. 
• Saves money by finding and fixing bugs early in development, reducing the risk of costly rework. 
• Enhances quality and reputation by preventing defects that could compromise a software product's functionality, usability, and safety. 
• Reduces support costs by minimizing the number of issues requiring customer service or technical assistance. It also helps to identify areas for improvement and optimization that can enhance the performance and efficiency of the software product. 
• Increases profitability by improving customer loyalty and retention and attracting new customers through referrals and positive reviews. It can also help create a competitive advantage and unique selling proposition for a software product. 

Let's look at the calculation as an example in favor of Reasons 2 and 3:

Event: 

The developer searched for and fixed the bug with a rate of $30/h. Finally, the support reported the bug, which the user informed. 

Time to work out the bug: 

1 hour to localize the bug; 

1 hour per fix. 

Outcome: 

The user received a negative UX, and the developer spent 2 hours on bug removal. Cost 60 dollars. Due to the bug passing through the user, others may have noticed it but did not write in support, and the product may have bad feedback. 

Event: 

The bug was found and localized QA with a rate of $20/h, and the developer fixed it at $30/h. 

Time to work out the bug: 

1 hour to localize the bug, but it was spent by QA, not by the developer 

1 hour per fix developer 

Outcome: 

Spent 1 hour of developer time and 1 hour of QA time, i.e., only one hour of working time was spent because both QA and the developer do their job the rest of the time. Cost $50. The bug did not reach the user and did not cause reputational loss.

Reason 4: Improving the emotional comfort of a team

Emotional comfort in the test and development team is an essential factor for the successful completion of the project - this means that team members can understand, respect, and support each other and express their feelings and opinions without fear of criticism or conflict. In addition, it promotes motivation, collaboration, creativity, and productivity in a team. 

To improve the emotional comfort of the team, we adhere to the following principles:

Even Task Distribution

Everyone in the team performs their function, does the work they enjoy, and turns out to be excellent. This approach allows you to unlock the potential, enjoy the work and contribute to the overall result. As a result, team members are ready to help each other, take on additional responsibility and take initiative. In this way, they improve their professional skills and develop flexibility and adaptability to change.

Team-building Activities

Time outside work and joint team-building activities help build trust, communication, and cohesion. In addition, various games, training, and corporate events allow people to get to know each other better, overcome barriers and conflicts, and reveal their creative abilities and sense of humor.

Emotional intelligence (EI) in a team

EI is the ability to recognize, manage, and use one's emotions and those of others. Team members with high levels of emotional intelligence can better adapt to change, manage stress, solve problems, communicate, and collaborate with others. Training, feedback, coaching, and mentoring are carried out for this. Creating an effective QA process is crucial for maintaining software quality. Learn how to create a QA process that aligns with your project goals and requirements with Luxe Quality's expert guidance.

Formation of a shared mental model (SMM)

SMM represents team members' goals, objectives, roles, responsibilities, and expectations. Team members with high SMM can better coordinate, anticipate each other's needs, and avoid misunderstandings and conflicts. To do this, joint planning, discussion, demonstration, and understanding of the work can be carried out.

Creating an atmosphere of trust and support in the team

Trust and support are a sense of security, confidence, and belonging to a team. Team members with high levels of trust and support can better share their knowledge, ideas, experience, and feedback, take risks, and learn from mistakes. In addition, team building, celebration of success, recognition of achievements, and help in difficult situations can be held to create an atmosphere of trust and support.

Improving emotional comfort in a team is an important condition for successful work and development.

Reason 5: Keep users of your product at the expense of the highest quality and stability.

User retention is the ability of a company to retain its regular customers for a certain time. This is important because regular customers are more loyal, make repeat purchases and recommend the product to other users. To retain users, you must show them the product's value and teach them how to work with it.

Usually, to retain users, offering them a product of the highest quality and stability is necessary. The quality of the product means that it meets the expectations and needs of the user, solves his problems, and gives him pleasure. The stability of the product means that it works without failures, errors, and delays and does not cause frustration and frustration in the user. 

A superior quality and stable product helps build trust and respect for the company, increase user satisfaction and loyalty, reduce churn, and increase business profitability. For that, it is necessary to conduct testing, track feedback, analyze user behavior, and constantly improve the product. 

Reason 6: Unload support

Proper testing teamwork offloads support staff from dealing with complaints and directs their activities to support users in improving their product experience. 

Moreover, it is necessary to optimize the processing of requests, analyze the most frequent and complex issues, distribute operators across lines and support levels, maintain a knowledge base, and train users to work with the product. 

Reason 7: Structuring the quality assurance process

QA aims to structure all development processes from project start to release. It includes creating all types of documentation and increasing the efficiency of intra-team communications and interactions. For example, testing is faster when there is a step-by-step test plan or checklist than when testing is done ad-hoc.

Process steps:

Process Structuring Goals:

Our team knows that proper structuring leads to a more efficient process.

Reason 8: Inefficiency of testing by experts in other fields

Testing by experts in other fields is checking software quality by people who are not professional testers but have experience and knowledge in developing or using the software. Such testing can take many forms: unit, integration, system, acceptance, beta, etc. Testing by experts in other fields has downsides compared to testing by professional testers. Looking for reliable software testing services to ensure the quality and reliability of your product? Luxe Quality offers comprehensive testing solutions tailored to your needs.

Cons of testing by experts in other areas:

• Lack of competence and responsibility. Specialists in other fields may not have sufficient experience and knowledge in software testing. For example, they may not know how to plan, design, execute, and analyze tests using various methodologies, techniques, and tools. They may not document or track defects or interact with developers and customers to improve software quality.
• Subjectivity and bias. Specialists in other fields may evaluate software from a narrow or one-sided point of view without considering all stakeholders' interests. As a result, they may be overly critical or condescending towards software and may have preferences or expectations of software that may not correspond to reality.
• Low efficiency and economy. Specialists in other fields can provide poor-quality software for a long time and at a great cost. They may not use test automation to improve the speed and accuracy of tests and reduce the human factor. They may also make or overlook costly errors and flaws in the software.

Therefore, we recommend hiring QA engineers to avoid unnecessary waste of budget and time.

Reason 9: Specialists have different types of Mindset

Developers and testers have different approaches to evaluating a product. Developers focus on implementing functionality that will satisfy customer and user requirements. On the other hand, testers look at the product through the eyes of end users and check its quality, reliability, and convenience. Developers tend to think optimistically and assume that everything will work as intended. Testers, on the other hand, are always ready for the fact that something could go wrong and try to identify all possible errors and shortcomings of the product, using their experience and intuition.

Reason 10: Clear description and localization of errors

QA can find a bug and describe it in detail with localization. This way, the development team will quickly understand where and perhaps even why the error occurred to fix and prevent it in the future.

One of the important tasks of QA is not only to detect a bug but also to give it a clear and understandable description indicating the place of its occurrence. This will help developers fix the problem faster and more efficiently and prevent it from reoccurring. To do this, the QA uses special tools and techniques such as screenshots, videos, logs, playback steps, priorities, etc. Also, QA considers the specifics of the product and the target audience when localizing bugs so as not to miss any critical or cosmetic errors. Are you a startup looking to ensure the quality of your software product? Luxe Quality provides software testing for startups to help you create a competitive and reliable product.

Let's summarize:

Of course, this is a small fraction of the reasons for commissioning testing to professionals, such as our QA engineers from Luxe Quality. You can waste time and money and acquire a dubious reputation, but why? Everyone should be in his place and perform the task in which he has much skill and experience.  You may also think: “Why software testing is important?” and the benefits of testing software for your project. Ready to offload your testing burden? Let Luxe Quality do the heavy lifting for you. Tell us about your project, and we'll gladly help you achieve your quality goals.